İHD stated that 872 Kurdish and revolutionaries have been taken under custody, and demanded the end of the operations as well as the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Human Rights Association (İHD) issued a press statement in its headquarters and shared its report on the recent operations that began with AKP’s war concept with the public.

Accourding to İHD data, 1034 people, 34 of whom are children, have been taken under custody and 49 people have been arrested during the police operations since July 21, 2015.

872 KURDS AND REVOLUTIONARIES UNDER CUSTODY

İHD stated that only 140 people were taken under custody for having ties to ISIS, and 22 for claims of membership in the Gulen movement. The rest of the 1034 people taken under custody are claimed to be PKK/KCK members, which brings the number of Kurds and revolutionaries that have been arrested to 872. İHD added that there have been 38 police attacks on meetings and protests organized by leftist and socialist groups since July 21.

İHD President Öztürk Türkdoğan noted that Turkey has not been carrying out an effective investigation against ISIS and today’s operations rather reminded the KCK operations of 2009-2013.

'STATE IMPLEMENTED TERROR METHODS'

Türkdoğan recalled the results of previous war processes and said that the Evacuated Villages Investigation Commission report numbered 10/25 from the TBMM’s 20th term had reported that 3 thousand 428 in 20 cities, 905 of which were villages and 2 thousand 523 were hamlets, were evacuated by force. Türkdoğan also quoted Ministry of Interior Affairs data confirming that 378 thousand 335 people were forced to migrate and added that NGO reports approximated this number to be between 1 and 3 millions. Türkdoğan emphasized that in doing these, the state implemented terror methods and described the unilateral application of the term ‘terrorism’ neither lawful not truthful.’

DEMANDS

Türkdoğan listed the following demands during the İHD press statement:

- The state must end military and political operations at once, end its violence, and start punishing public servants who have been violating human rights.

- PKK must preserve the ceasefire, stop its retaliations, and end armed attacks.

- Isolation of Abdullah Öcalan must end immediately and Öcalan should be allowed to meet with the HDP delegation as well as his lawyers.

- State institutions must approach political parties equally and end its hostile and marginalizing policies such as not informing HDP, who has a group in the parliament, about important issues such as national security. Hostility towards HDP should be considered as hostility towards Turkey’s unity.

- Turkey should end its Syria policy, act so that friendly neighbor relations are established with Syria/Rojava cantons, and carry out an effective struggle against jihadist organizations.

- Peace and Solution Process should continue with a commitment to the February 28, 2015 Declaration.

- Turkey should not be left without a government, a coalition government that would realize peace and democracy should be established, a war coalition should be avoided.

- Laws such as the internal security package and legal reform that enable authoritarian practices should be changed, censorship of the press should be abandoned through securing the freedom of expression.

'HDP CANNOT BE SHUT DOWN'

Türkdoğan answered journalists’ questions and said that as a party with 6 million voters, HDP could not be shut down. Türkdoğan noted that mobilized voters would create an alternative party immediately and asked the prosecutor who is trying to shut HDP down what he had done regarding the civilians who were massacre in Roboski and Suruç massacres.

Regarding police violence on the streets, Türkdoğan stated that police authority during the state of emergency (OHAL) has become normalized, but emphasized that Turkey was not a country that could be governed in OHAL conditions.